Grudge Match Redux
by Team Bananafishstickers
Summary: Just because it LOOKS like nothing's changed, doesn't mean that it hasn't. A Round Robin. BeVin Kevin/Ben slash.
1. Chapter 1

**Minty's Notes: **I started the Round Robin off with a prompt for Cheesy:

_(These are part of a conversation.)  
__Character A: I'm getting a serious déjà vu vibe here.  
Character B: Yeah and not only that, but something about this place seems really familiar._

The best part of this prompt was that I snitched it from Teen Titans. Character A was Cyborg, and Character B was Beast Boy. Beast Boy is voiced by Greg Cipes, who also voices Kevin on Alien Force. Cheesy gave Kevin Beast Boy's line. I give her 1000 extra points for the awesomesauce connection.

**DISCLAIMER:** TEAM BANANAFISHSTICKERS DOES NOT OWN BEN 10, BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE, TEEN TITANS, OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT MAY BE MENTIONED FROM HERE ON OUT THAT IS COPYRIGHTED OR CREATED BY OTHER PEOPLE. WE CLAIM ONLY OUR CRAZY PLOT AND THE BUG-BASTARDS THAT SHOW UP LATER.**  
That disclaimer is only going to be up once. It'll be assumed in all other segments of the Round Robin.**

**End Minty's Notes. Cheesy… take over!**

*****

**Round Robin Group B Post #1** by Goddess-of-da-Cheeseburgers

*strikes a sentai pose* TEAM BANANAFISHSTICKERS! GO!!!

Goddess-of-da-Cheeseburgers's writing process is a complex one:

1. Watch NCIS  
2. Play Pokemon  
3. Yoga break!  
4. Make sammich  
5. Eat sammich while watching Monk  
6. Watch Psych  
7. Eat peanuts

So... The actual writing gets done either during commercials or when I run out of food. I would have posted this earlier today, but I was cleaning a bathroom. The bleach has killed my brain cells, so don't expect much more coherency out of me for a while...

*****

Ben's eyes opened slowly, only to be met with the sight of an unfamiliar, drab gray ceiling. He groaned and rubbed his forehead tiredly, "You know, I thought I got over this whole random blackout thing when Big Chill had her babies..."

"Big Chill's a she?"

Startled, Ben sat up abruptly only to be jerked back down by the cuff around his wrist. Ben's head hit the ground again with a painful crack, leading into another foray into unconsciousness. Rolling over onto his side, Kevin frowned at the brunet he was cuffed to. The kid was too damn jumpy for this "hero business" of his… The mutant propped himself up to keep an eye on the boy he was currently cuffed to.

----------- x ----------

When Ben came around again, Kevin made sure that he was in full view of the brunet. This, of course, didn't stop Ben from yanking clumsily at the cuff around his wrist. The "chain" of sorts, a crackling wire of green electricity, was barely a foot in length. Neither of the boys was too keen on actually touching the wire. After a brief scuffle over whose fault this was and Kevin learning first hand that energy chains hurt like a mother, the two sat with their backs resting against each other.

"You know..." Ben raised his shackled wrist thoughtfully, "...I'm getting a serious déjà vu vibe here, Kevin."

Kevin, pausing in his desperate bid to lick at his stinging elbow, frowned, "Yeah..." He gave up and shifted to rest his back more firmly against Ben's, "And not only that, but something about this place seems really familiar." He felt Ben sigh faintly and grinned. Ben always made playing dumb much more fun.

"...Ankles. Last time, the shackles were around our ankles." Ben tensed up suddenly, "We're on the Megacruiser."

"The, uh… What?" Kevin paused, and sat up straight, "That gladiator place!"

*****

Notes:  
--If you don't know where I'm talking about, it's the Ben 10 episode where Ben and Kevin were in a gladiatorial arena and they were forced to fight as a tag team and it was pretty darn cute.  
--My process starts with a "holla!" and ends with a creamsicle.  
--And if there time in between: Thundercats, hoooo!  
--Okay, I'll stop.  
--I PASS THE TORCH TO _**blackmystique**_


	2. Chapter 2

**round robin group b post #2 **by blackmystique

Go Team Bananafishstickers! xD

*****

"Yes. The _Mega Cruiser_."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "It's a stupid name and you know it. Who the hell names a ship 'Mega Cruiser?' I would have named it something cooler."

Ben shifted and slightly pushed back against Kevin, frowning. "Right, whatever. You think of a 'cool' name for the ship while I actually do something useful, like, I don't know; think of a way to get back home?"

"Relax, Ben. No need to get all stressed out about nothing. We got off this ship before, we can get off it again." Kevin grinned cockily and stood up, pulling Ben up with him. He made a show of looking around the place even though everything there was still the same as it was before. "There's metal everywhere around here."

Ben ignored Kevin's confident attitude and huffed. "Okay, so it's most likely easier to get off the ship this time around, but it would be nice to know how we got here in the first place. I can't remember a thing."

Ben stretched his arms and glanced at Kevin who wasn't looking at him. In fact, Kevin was looking at the floor and mumbling something with a somewhat frustrated expression on his face. "Um, Kevin…?"

"Last time we were on this thing weren't there robots and other aliens?" Kevin asked, looking up abruptly.

"Well, yeah, but…" Ben trailed off, thinking. Kevin had a good point. Last time they were on the ship there were a lot of aliens around as well as robot guards. At the moment, they were all alone.

While Ben was thinking Kevin stared at him, relieved. He wasn't sure he could explain the whole fiasco that got them into this mess. It wasn't really his fault or anything really. Gwen was usually the one that did the explaining is all. Speaking of Gwen…

"Hey Ben, where's—"

The sound of muffled voices and a sliding door interrupted Kevin.

*****

~I hope I didn't get something wrong (not that I really mentioned anything. just sliding doors that may or may not have been there). I don't remember this episode too well. Just the fact that Ben and Kevin were awesome in it, haha.

On to you now _**Cybra**_!


	3. Chapter 3

**Round Robin Group B Post #3** by Cybra

Un-beta'd and barely edited. I is nervous. D:

-----

Insects, Kevin swiftly decided, should not be this pretty.

The insect in question stood at somewhere close to seven feet tall, her—clearly this alien was female if her face was anything to judge by—dragonfly wings were neatly folded behind her back almost like a silvery cape. Her skin (exoskeleton) was a pleasing mocha brown, covered only by a cream dress for modesty purposes though it did little to hide the intergalactically attractive curves.

All in all, she made a lovely package. Even her face didn't hold anything more disturbing than eyes too large for comfort. Though it was her haughty expression that was significantly off-putting. The chill in those disturbingly green eyes (disturbing in the sense their shade wasn't that much different than Ben's) definitely knocked the attractiveness down a few pegs.

The insect seemed to glide as she walked towards them. She seemed to be studying them.

Whatever she saw, she seemed to find Kevin lacking. She pointed a long, elegant finger in his direction. "He will not do."

"Fine by me" was the metal-absorber's irritated response. "Now uncuff us and let us go."

If it were possible, the alien's green eyes became even colder. "I said _you_ will not do." She turned her head towards Ben. "However..."

"What're you--Hey!"

Ben didn't manage to avoid the thin hand that gripped him by the chin, forcing his face upward.

"Hands off, lady!" Kevin immediately ordered. He started to rise to his feet, tugging on the tether that connected him to Ben.

Another of her four arms knocked him back to the metal floor. "Sit there and be quiet," she ordered, not taking an eye off of her brunet captive.

After another moment or two of study, she smiled. "Yes. He will do."

Two of her three free hands produced two more cuffs, snapping one of them onto Kevin's free wrist. The Omnitrix, however, screeched and unleashed some of its energy on the second cuff, green power crackling over it.

"What a troublesome little toy," she mused.

A large male insectoid approached from behind, bringing a small circular device, placing it in her last free hand. Before Ben could move away, she attached it to the Omnitrix's face, a sickly yellow light eminating from it.

The Omnitrix howled as if in pain, the sound echoed by Ben.

"Ben!" Kevin yelled, touching the floor to absorb some of the metal. He reached for the device only to have the guard grab him. "Let me go!"

Green energy battled yellow, the yellow winning out as the watch became silent. The brunet collapsed in a heap.

"Ben!" The black-haired teen growled at the apparent leader, struggling in the guard's four-armed grip. "What'd you do to him?!"

The female alien ignored him, snapping the last cuff onto Ben's arm just above the Omnitrix. She pressed a button on it along with a similar one on the second cuff Kevin now sported. The connection between Ben and Kevin was severed, an energy tether connecting each of the pairs of cuffs.

"Bring him," she ordered another guard that had appeared as if by magic. (Where did these roaches keep coming from?!) She pointed one long finger down at Ben.

"And him?" The guard holding Kevin jostled him painfully.

"You let me go, and I squish every last one of you," Kevin growled.

The female gazed impassively at him. Then she turned away, waving a hand imperiously as she said, "Do as you like with him. Just dispose of him."

"Come back here!" Kevin snarled as she left, her lackey carrying an unconscious Ben. "Wake up, Ben! _**BEN!"**_

-----

Mwahaha. Mine is an evil laugh. Have fun, _**pan2dapan**_! XD


	4. Chapter 4

**Round Robin Group B Post #4! ** by pan2dapan

HEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY KID! *runs in, trips, lands on face*

...Yeah. I'm early. But I figure, "Hmmm. get this done now so I can waste my free time drawing things later." XD

Without further adieu, here's part four of Bananafishstickers's thrilling story.....*flails arms dramatically*

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

"Let me the fuck go, you rusted piece of shit!" Kevin's metal hands clawed into the outer shell of the guard, his legs barely denting where he kicked.

"I'll let you go, _alright_..." The guard threw Kevin against the wall, the mutant's head hitting the wall with a violent crack. All he could see before the black overtook him was the guard advancing on him, staff aimed at his chest.

----------- x ----------

The last thing Ben remembered was white-hot pain shooting up his arm. The one the Omnitrix rested on. Now he felt nothing but a slight tingle. His fingers stretched out cautiously, feeling soft linen under them. _'Okay, maybe that was all a dream. I'm in my room and nothing is wrong and I'm going to open my eyes..._'

The first thing he saw was a bright overhead light. "Damn."

Noticing his consciousness, the room's other occupant came over to Ben. "Ah, I see you are awake, Earthling."

"Where in the hell am I? And where's Kevin?" Ben's eyes, still not quite adjusted to the light in the room, flickered around looking for his friend.

"You are in the private rooms of the proprietor of this vessel, one Silla Zopht. She took over this cruiser after it was stolen from Slix Vigma by a protoevolved mutant and the tyrant Vilgax. From that undistinguished genesis, Mistress Silla has metamorphosed this transport into what you now see, this quadrant's finest entertainment complex. As for this '_Kevin_' I do not know."

Ben marveled at how many large words the servant fit into that explanation and sat up. The room was simple, yet still very refined. Sheer fabric hung from the walls and ceiling, the floors covered in lush carpeting, the whole room in shades of blues and lavenders. Pillows of every sort, color and shape covered the place. The teen was suddenly reminded of a harem. Apprehensively Ben asked, "What do you mean 'entertainment complex'? What kind of things do you guys do here?"

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Notes:

-I wanted to write more with Kev, like a bitchin fight scene and shit, but I thought against it because I thought it more important to establish where Benji went and what the hell was going on before Kev-Man busted out and tore shit up. So yeah.

-About making the MegaCruiser what it is: I totally decided before I read the comments on the last part. HOW CRAZY. Well, not really. XD

-Thesaurus is my friend.

**proto**

_adjective_

indicating the first or earliest or original; "'proto' is a combining form in a word like 'protolanguage' that refers to the hypothetical ancestor of another language or group of languages"

So, yeah, basically mutie!kev got burned. Scholastic-style. XD

-How I come up with names:

1. hands are lightly placed on keyboard.

2. head is tilted towards ceiling

3. random mouth sounds are made until they sound cool together.

4. then i try and figure out how to spell them.

yeah, that's all I gots.

GOOD LUCK, _**Minty Chinchilla**_!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**"Grudge Match Redux" Post #5 **by Minty Chinchilla

Continuing from pan2dapan's insanity. Thank you OH SO VERY MUCH for the alien harem idea. _Really_. Do you have any idea how HARD it was to figure out what to do next? GAAAAHH!!!

*****

_Apprehensively Ben asked, "What do you mean 'entertainment complex'? What kind of things do you guys do here?"_

The servant didn't even bother to look at Ben when he (she? it?) answered.

"We provide young, beautiful specimens of various species for the perusal by and entertainment of our clientele. We have achieved our reputation mainly not because of what we allow our clients to do with the courtesans, but because we allow for inter-species purchases. No other complex in this galaxy or its neighboring galaxies allows for such liberations. We provide for our clients their fantasies that would otherwise be impossible to fulfill on their home planets."

Ben felt like his breakfast was trying to reacquaint itself with his mouth. He was handcuffed in a fluffy, purple pillow-filled room in a freaking intergalactic _brothel_. Could things get any worse?

Scratch that. They can. Damn that bug-creature and its motor-mouth.

"It turns out, humans have been in high demand as of late. Since they only come from Earth, which is in this particular quadrant, customers from across the universe have been contacting our ship in hopes that we have your species. Luckily for Mistress Silla, her scouts found you. She believes with a little… _training_, you'll be a perfect match for her top clients' specifications."

"Why the _fuck_ did you buggers have to pick me? Where the hell is Kevin? You better let us go back home, I swear, or I'll—"

"Or you'll what? Zap us with that pathetic little toy on your wrist?"

Ben started. He didn't even notice when the shiny bug-lady from before came in. From what the other bug was saying, he guessed she was that "Silla Zopht" bitch that took over the Megacruiser after Kevin and Vilgax last had it.

"I suggest you shut your mouth, human. You're in _my_ quarters, and since I'm in control of this ship, you _will_ obey me. Your bulky metallic friend is already experiencing the pain that is the result of displeasing me."

"You can't do anything to Kevin! If any of you bastards so much as touch him—" Ben struggled to his feet, but the cuffs on his wrists and the mountains of fluffy purple pillows made it difficult. Before he could finish his threat, Silla had backhanded him across the face and he fell back onto the pillows.

"I told you to keep your mouth shut, human. I will not condone such blatant impudence in my presence. It's time for your training." The freaky bug-lady waved a hand in dismissal of the servant while reaching for some kind of switch on the wall. A panel slid back, revealing a myriad of odd, and many potentially gruesome, tools. "Where should we start?"

Ben's eyes widened as her multiple hands grazed over the shelves.

----------- x ----------

Kevin slowly came to in the holding cell. His head throbbed where it had hit the wall, and his chest was tight, constricting his breathing. He was laying facedown, his still cuffed arms stretched out above his head. Kevin groaned as he rolled over onto his back. That guard must have jabbed him in the chest multiple times with that staff after he lost consciousness.

Trying to keep from hurting himself more, Kevin sat up and leaned against a wall. He needed to get out of this cell and find Ben. With the Omnitrix under the control of that yellow device, there was little chance Ben could get himself out of those bugs' grasps. It shouldn't be too hard for Kevin though. He had been on this ship before; he had _controlled_ this ship before. If those bug aliens haven't changed it too much for whatever purpose they use the Megacruiser for now, Kevin should be able to find his way to the control room or the arena and find Ben.

Kevin closed his eyes against the pain in his chest. His mind was assaulted with images and sounds as he swayed back and forth between wakefulness and darkness.

_The Omnitrix howled as if in pain, the sound echoed by Ben._

_"Ben!" Kevin yelled, touching the floor to absorb some of the metal. He reached for the device only to have the guard grab him. "Let me go!"_

_Green energy battled yellow, the yellow winning out as the watch became silent. The brunet collapsed in a heap._

_"Ben!" The black-haired teen growled at the apparent leader, struggling in the guard's four-armed grip. "What'd you do to him?!"_

Kevin shook his head to keep the memory away, only to see it replaced by another, a memory of how they had gotten here to begin with.

_Kevin sat on the hood of his car, waiting with Ben at the park for Gwen to show up. There had been news of an alien sighting here not too long ago. Aliens, however, were the least of Kevin's thoughts at the moment. He was too wrapped up in trying to watch Ben without being obvious he was oogling the brunet._

_Resting an arm on his knee, Kevin leaned forward a little as Ben paced in front on the car. His vision glazed over as Kevin's imagination took over the oogling. He jumped a little when he realized Ben had stopped pacing and was looking directly at him._

"_You okay, Kev? You seem a little out of it."_

"_Huh? Oh, yeah, great. Umm…"_

"_You sure?" Ben raised an eyebrow, whether out of amusement or concern Kevin didn't notice. He was a little busy getting lost in Ben's eyes._

"_Uh… yee-aah. Say, Benji, what would you do if—" Kevin never got to finish his question. A near-legion of bug-like aliens came out of nowhere and attacked the two boys. Ben was knocked out cold before he could activate the Omnitrix._

"_Ben!" Kevin absorbed the metal from his car and started smashing aliens in an attempt to get to Ben. "Dammit, you fucking bug-creeps! Leave him alone! BEN!"_

"_Your species is of premium demand on our Mistress's complex. You will come with us or be destroyed human." One of the aliens clocked Kevin with an electrically charged staff, and he saw black._

Kevin's breathing had sped up as he had relived the memories. If those aliens had meant what he thought they meant, he had to save Ben. Now. The way that bug-lady was looking at Ben gave Kevin a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew what to do now.

After catching his breath back, he got to his feet, absorbing the wall's metal as he rose. Aiming a kick at the door's lock, Kevin smashed his way out of the cell. The door flew off its hinges and collided with one of the bug guards. Its partner reached for a laser blaster, but Kevin's fist met the bug's face before it could fully ready the weapon.

More bugs came down the hall, drawn to the commotion. Kevin plowed his way through the swarm, the only thought on his mind, '_I gotta find Ben._'

*****

Hey Cybra? Like how I incorporated your segment into Kevin's flashbacks? I got to write Kevin smashing bugs. It was fun. But poor poor Benji! What's the bug-lady going to do? What does she keep in that cabinet of doom? Heck if I know. It's up to _**Goddess-of-da-Cheeseburgers**_ now!


	6. Chapter 6

**"Grudge Match Redux" Post #6** by Goddess-of-da-Cheeseburgers

So, I've been FAILING EPICALLY at Mega Man for the past *checks watch* four hours without a break. Virtual Console needs more N64 games. Dreamcast games would be welcome as well. (I WOULD PLAY JET GRIND RADIO ON MY WII. I WOULD PLAY IT AND I WOULD LOVE IT.)

But I digress...YOU GUYS ARE HERE FOR SOME BENTORTURE, AMRITE?

IAMRITE.

Sadly, my bentorture came out so badly written that I eventually edited it out. HOW ABOUT SOME KEVIN BADASS-NESS INSTEAD?

---

'_Shit this bug can hit_ hard._'_ Ben felt tears gather in the corner of his eyes and he tried to blink them back furiously. A little pain was nothing, but alien baddies didn't usually go for the money-maker. The shots he usually ended up taking were more of the "punch him in the gut and knock the wind out of him!" variety. More often than not, he was taking these shots with a little more alien muscle in place to take the blow. While stubbornly denying to himself that the backhand had brought tears, the brunet glanced at the Omnitrix. Would it be worth it?

As two of Silla Zopht's three spare hands busied themselves with lifting a rather wicked-looking device from the wall--he had to resist from heaving a sigh of relief when she set it aside to reach for something smaller that was stored behind it--Ben laid his fingers gently over the face of the Omnitrix. A gentle push is all it takes to pop the face up...

----------- x ----------

Kevin was almost comforted by the sensation of cool metal sliding over his skin and burying deeper and deeper. Strange alien metal combined with his unstable DNA, solidifying muscle and bone into a single, sturdy material of somewhat-unknown origin. When it made his dangerous genetics more or less likely to deteriorate in a spectacular fashion, Kevin didn't know. Some sort of inorganic matter was making his body stronger, and Kevin found that rather satisfying.

What was more satisfying was the crunch that was made by his fist coming in contact with the insect guard's face. Oh yeah, this stuff was a keeper.

Only idiots made their walls out of tougher stuff than their armor, especially when someone with his extraordinarily useful skill set was around. As it was, Kevin was pleased to note that his fist not only dented the insects' armor, but actually broke clear through it and damaged their considerably more fragile exoskeletons.

The downside came when he realized that the fuckers had _acid_ for internal goo. Kevin snarled as the disgusting yellow viscera started eating away at the metal he'd absorbed. Generally, only the top layer of whatever he'd absorbed would be damaged before the chemical reaction ran out of steam. After that, it was a matter of reabsorbing the material and carrying on his merry way. This time, Kevin had pulled the metal in too deep, and the acidic goo showed no signs of tiring out anytime soon. The mutant flexed his fingers stiffly before splashing the yellow substance all over the oncoming guards. With the group that was in front down screaming and grasping at wherever the slime landed _('If this shit burns so badly on the outside, how can they stand to have it on the inside?'_), the number of guards seemed a lot smaller.

Kevin stooped to pick up a laser gun, mentally cataloging it by origin, size, class, and firepower, and absorbed some of its metal casing. As predicted, the chemical reaction presently eating away at his hand ceased almost immediately. Turning back to the remaining guards, he fired randomly. An automatic laser pistol was an immensely useful tool after all. Only one guard was left standing.

By the smell of things, he'd voided his bowels.

Kevin grinned and disassembled the pistol in his hands with a practiced movement. He tossed the broken gun aside carelessly as he advanced towards the frightened guard. Poor guy, must still be new around here...Kevin grabbed him quickly by the front on his armor, his injured hand twitched slightly, and rested his other hand firmly against the thick glass window in the hall.

Kevin didn't like using glass, it was always too delicate and he never really wanted to risk that sort of damage to his own body. Even the bulletproof glass he'd replaced his car's windows with had its limits. In this case, though, he's make an exception. Glass flowed over his fingers and palm, and Kevin held back a grimace as he felt his muscles and bones shift into something far more fragile that the metal he had previously been using.

----------- x ----------

"You silly little creature, did you _really_ just try that?" She rested two of her hands on her hips and threw the other pair up in exasperation, "You humans never learn...No small wonder why your idiotic kind is in such high demand."

Ben tried to sneer, though the expression was slightly hindered by the burned fingers he'd stuck in his mouth. Silla only shook her head, "...Disgusting." She pulled the whip taunt between her hands and twirled the knife about carefully. The dragonfly-like alien cringed visibly when Ben pulled his fingers out of his mouth and tried to push himself up with his still-cuffed hands. The brunet, finally able to pull off an effective scowl, did so.

"Listen, you buggy-bitch, this is your last chance." His voice sounded a lot more confident than he really was, and Ben wrote a mental memo to give himself a pat on the back later, "Leave me the fuck alone and let Kevin and I go." This threat, he mused, would have sounded a lot more intimidating if he hadn't been struggling to remain upright amongst piles upon piles of plush pillows and blankets.

----------- x ----------

"So, you gonna talk?" Kevin tilted his hand a bit, angling the focused beam of light back on the bug guard's forehead. The creature hissed at him angrily as his forehead slowly began smoking, but said nothing. Kevin sighed, "I bet'cha five bucks I'm fluent in whatever you speak..."

"_Well then, fuck you_."

The mutant arched an eyebrow, "So it speaks...Sounds like some dialect of Lepidopterran..." He cleared his throat, "_You want I should burn out an eye, next?_" He smashed the roach's head against the floor abruptly, "_Or are you going to_ fucking talk!?"

---

Notes:

--Fun fact: dragonflies can't hear. They can apparently "see" sound, though. Don't quote me on this, I'm not entirely sure. The research material is surprisingly scarce.

--This fact...Was way more relevant before I revised this part.

--I wish I had two extra arms...Ben and Kevin just never put their extra limbs to good use.

--I know Kevin's powers only cover his skin in a layer of whatever he absorbs...But...Um...I THINK BEING ABLE TO CONTROL THE LEVEL OF ABSORPTION IS COOLER K THNX BAI

--Kevin seems like the type of kid that burned ants with a magnifying glass when he was a kid

--Um, so...No bentorture from me. I know, I lied.

--Even if it's scientifically impossible, what do you think would happen if you turned one substance into an entirely different substance in the middle of a chemical equation? (Chemistry would have been fun for me if my teacher hadn't been such a dumb shit.)

--Han Kevin shot first

--It's your turn again, **_blackmystique_**! :D


	7. Chapter 7

**"Grudge Match Redux" Post #7** by blackmystique

Here goes, post # 7~

*****

Silla Zopht narrowed her eyes at Ben and turned, rustling her wings to create a buzzing sound. The servant from before entered and she whispered something to him/her/it. Ben tried to keep the look of fear off his face when he saw the look of fear that appeared on the servant's face. He/She/It nodded and exited the room. Silla Zopht looked at him once again and gave him a soft, menacing smile. She bent down until her face was in front of Ben's and said in a voice that made Ben lose the little confidence that he had, "You should have been glad that I was the one educating you, but it seems you'll be meeting my brother instead."

'_Damn. There's another one?!'_

---------- x -----------

The roach tried to glare up at Kevin with his slightly buggy eyes and twitched his antennas. He moved his claspers a couple of times before speaking.

"_If you're looking for pretty little green-eyes, you'll never be able to find him here. Why don't you talk to Madame Silla and find another fucktoy? I'm sure she'll help you out for the right price."_

Kevin shoved the roach's head into the floor a bit harder and thought about it.

'_Silla must be the dragonfly lady. If I can talk to her…No. I can't trust aliens. Especially not these bastard bugs.'_

---------- x -----------

While Kevin thought, the roach smirked and lowered his antennas. He slowed his heart rate until it became seemingly nonexistent and stopped breathing. _'Thank Neoptera for this ability.'_

The roach listened as Kevin muttered a string of curses about bugs being weak creatures that died easily. Silla Zopht was an idiot for not keeping this one.

---------- x -----------

"While we wait for the arrival of my dear brother, why don't I teach you how you should speak to your clients?"

Silla Zopht moved to a dresser a couple of feet away from Ben. She removed from it a dark blue bowl with strange silver designs on it and a bottle of lavender liquid. She carefully set the bowl on an end table and poured the liquid into the bowl. Careful not to spill the liquid, she moved the bowl closer to Ben and dipped two of her fingers into the lavender liquid. Pulling out her fingers, she smiled at Ben. "You'll learn to love this."

Ben looked at her wet fingers warily and tried to back away as much as possible. "Get the fucking hell _away_ from me!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

She moved her fingers under Ben's nose. Ben held his breath as long as he possibly could, but had to give into the need for oxygen. He didn't know what the scent was but the sensation it brought was frighteningly overwhelming. As he unintentionally inhaled the sweet scent, he was reminded of Kevin. Kevin would come save him. When he felt Silla Zopht's fingers touch his skin, all he wanted to do was moan. _'Kevin…'_

---------- x -----------

~I didn't write too much sadly. I tried, but I'm horrible at writing sometimes ._.

So...if you count my dashes, you'll find that its 10 x 11. Because I'm retarded like that, haha.

And roaches can apparently live 45 minutes without breathing. And they can slow their heart rate. And Neoptera is the Infraclass of the roaches. I just used it as a random God name because it sounded pretty. Also, I keep having the urge to make Silla Zopht pregnant just so she can have nymphs...yeah... Now it's your turn once again _**Cybra**_. Sorry for taking so long!


	8. Chapter 8

**"Grudge Match Redux" #8** by Cybra

Kevin stormed off from the dead roach, fists clenched. At the same time, he shed his glass skin so that he returned to his usual flesh and bone. He mentally debated touching the wall to re-absorb the metal but decided against it for the moment. There was no one here at the moment besides him and the corpse, but he'd rather not attract unwanted attention with the distinctive sound of metal on metal. For now, he'd be as human as the next guy. Besides, with all the metal around him, even if someone ambushed him, he'd have plenty of material to absorb.

He continued his progress, his steps growing softer and softer as he channeled his rage into stealth. At the forefront of his mind was the thought of saving Ben from whatever sick plans these space bugs had. And it had to be something sick rather than the old "taking the Omnitrix and using it to conquer" idea. This Silla had seemed annoyed by the watch rather than thinking of any possibilities for it. The dark-haired teen felt grateful that she would most likely leave it alone if only because removing the Omnitrix was not pleasant for its wearer.

A tingling sense of paranoia rose in the back of his mind. At first he dutifully ignored it, figuring it was anxiety about Ben triggering it. However, he finally gave in to the need to look back, glancing down the hallway from which he'd come. He'd gone quite a ways but not far enough to avoid seeing it:

The "corpse" was gone.

----------- x ----------

Unable to repress it any longer, Ben closed his eyes and gave a moan of pleasure as Kevin's hands glided over his face. The mutant's other two hands were sliding up under his shirt, rubbing against his chest. All the while, that sweet scent wrapped them in a heavenly wonderland.

_'Oh, God, Kevin...'_ the hero thought though he couldn't bring himself to give voice to that.

"Yes," the amalgamation of his ten year-old self's alien forms purred. "Just like that."

The xenomorph reached up to wrap his arms around the other's neck, running his fingers along the gossamer wings of Stinkfly. Kevin leaned further down, allowing him to press up against the other's shirt.

The feel of the fabric stirred something. The ghosts of memory tugged at his mind though the smell and the touching took dominance.

_'Hope he doesn't want to do this in the car,'_ Ben thought idly. _'That'd be kind of uncomfortable.'_

With the thought of the car came a flash of insight that almost seemed to sneak past all the blissful sensations:

The mutated creature of his younger years couldn't possibly fit in the Camaro.

He shifted uncomfortably as his mind started to process this, fighting through the scent and the touches. The mutant couldn't possibly fit in the car. Not with four arms, the tail, and the wings. Not to mention his overall body size. The Camaro would've had a hole in the roof.

He struggled with this, trying to rationalize it. The touches suddenly became more insistant, attempting to pull him back down into the simple pleasure of their caress.

Yet his mind wouldn't shut up. The horribly mutated Kevin couldn't possibly have the Camaro. And with XLR8's legs, he didn't _need_ a car. The only way for Kevin to have that car was if he was human.

That seemed to open a floodgate of images. Black hair, dark eyes, smirking face. Two arms, two legs, a nose, no tail, no wings, and no dangling third eye. Kevin wasn't that creature anymore; he was human. _Human._

With all the will he could muster, the brunette pushed back against the scent and the touches. He opened his eyes and, for a moment, received a bizarre double image of the mutated Kevin and a disturbingly pretty insect alien. But thanks to what his mind had figured out, he pushed the false face--along with the person attached to it--away.

"Back off!" he yelled, sending a surprised Silla flying with a sudden kick from soccer-trained legs.

Her wings beat the air as her pretty face twisted into a snarl, managing to stop her backwards flight and pulling into a hover. She landed easily, schooling her features into that haughty mask. "So you won't be easily broken. Impressive."

Ben rolled to his feet and went for the Omnitrix only for her to reach her whip first and lash out. This time, however, he dodged, escaping the lash by bare millimeters.

She gave him a twisted smile. "Perhaps my brother will have better luck with you. He'll certainly enjoy the challenge."

----------- x ----------

Kevin raced down the corridors, not caring anymore who he might've barged into. His feet--now covered in a coat of metal from the wall--clanged loudly against the floor. He ripped open compartment door after compartment door, calling the brunette's name but not finding him. All the while, a clock ticked somewhere in his head, counting off the time he hadn't run into any adversaries. The bugs were planning something; he just knew it.

A loud buzzing drew his attention to a side corridor. This was swiftly followed by equally loud skittering.

"Fuck!" he yelled, falling into a defensive position as the roach-like aliens did what insects did best:

They swarmed.

**Notes:**

And that's all she wrote for me. Though I did love writing Ben's sequence. :D After making him get knocked out so early in the game, I wanted to give him a little bit of fight even if it was mostly mental.

_**Pan2dapan**_, I choose you!


	9. Chapter 9

**"Grudge Match Redux" Post #9 **by Pan2dapan

I would have had this done sooner, but I got distracted by shiny Kamen Rider and Gackt things. XD

----------- x ----------

_This was bad. __Very bad__._ There had to be at least 50-75 bug things surrounding the mutant. As Kevin looked behind him, a weight landed straight in his stomach, he was surrounded.

Fully coating himself in metal, he figured it was better for him to make the first strike, and it sat better with his pride too.

The first wave went down easily, with Kevin simply rendering them to shreds with his hands, careful not to get hardly any of the acid gore onto his metal coating.

The second wave, however, that one was tricky. They knew what the mutant could do, and fought him smarter. Watching and moving away from his hands, punching, kicking, and stabbing his weak spots.

Kevin was thrown against a wall, panting and bleeding from various cuts and abrasions. _'I can't keep fighting them like this. I'm getting my ass handed to me. At this rate, Ben will be..._'

"No. This ends _NOW_." Closing his eyes, he focused on gathering that faded energy deep inside of him. Kevin knew he promised to never use this again, but sometimes, promises have to be broken for higher causes.

As the insect horde advanced on the seemingly meditating mutant, they noted that his arms started to glow and mutate, one becoming Pyronite, the other Petrosapien. The Earthling opened his eyes, the irises now a golden color and smiled, his canines now sharp and menacing.

"Now, I'm ready for a _party_!" With that he charged at the dumbfounded platoon.

----------- x ----------

Ben and Silla were locked in something very akin to a Mexican standoff for what felt like forever to the fifteen year old.

Suddenly, the door was knocked on and the familiar voice of the servant came through. "Mistress, Master Sagark is here."

A wicked smile flashed across Silla's face. "Good. Enter."

Ben felt his breakfast try to visit his mouth again as the door opened and the newcomer entered the room. If the brunette thought Silla was unnervingly pretty, she looked like a hobo compared to her brother. He was breathtaking. His short, silver hair framed his face, barely covering his canary yellow eyes. His face seemed less bug-like than his sister's as well, his eyes only slightly larger than a normal man's, He was taller than Silla, his wings, an iridescent blue tucked behind him in a similar fashion as his sister. Ben was brought back to the scene when the bug-man opened his mouth to speak.

"I hear you're having problems with our new pet, sister..."

----------- x ----------

Notes:

-I really like Kamen Rider Kiva. And as my tribute, I named Silla's brother after one of the Riders, Saga. [The bat/henshin device is named Sagark. If you want I can explain it more, but yeah. that's all for that.] And it sounds cool with the name Silla.

-Yeah. I brought back some Mutie!Kev. I didn't want him goin all Mutie yet, but was thinking that it was like his last resort, and he wouldn't go full Mutie, just a few controllable traits. He's still not sure he can come back from a full transformation. ^ v ^

-I've been kinda wanting to art for this. Maybe even manga out some of it. Granted this is like a whistle in the dark, but I want Bananafishsticker's permission before I do.

-Lastly: *burp*

Have fun, _**Minty Chinchilla**_!


	10. Chapter 10

**"Grudge Match Redux" Post #10** by Minty Chinchilla

WHOO! DOUBLE DIGITS!

Uhh, yeah. 2 hours late on the update. Sorry! I blame the season 2 finale! I was too excited! IT WAS EPIC.

----------- x ----------

_"I hear you're having problems with our new pet, sister..."_

Ben took back everything he had just thought about this bug-man. His voice was _the_ most horrendous thing Ben had ever heard. It was akin to fingernails on a chalkboard, with a side of gravel thrown down a garbage disposal.

"The human resisted the ambrosia. We'll have to use more forceful means to break him properly." Silla sniffed disdainfully, miffed by Ben's willpower.

"Resisted the ambrosia? Well, that's new. I guess I'll have to just go up to the next level in his training." Sagark turned to the compartment his sister had opened earlier, reaching two arms to lift a large, vaguely crescent-shaped blade. Ben drew back when the blade's sharp edge glinted in the lighting. '_Knives shouldn't be _that_ sharp, should they?_'

"I'll trace, you'll hold?" Sagark tilted his head in Ben's direction, and Silla's mouth twisted into an ugly, demonic smile. Without warning, she snapped her whip, catching Ben off guard and wrapping the lash tightly around his lower legs. He toppled to the floor as she gave the whip a sharp tug. Several bug servants swarmed over him, wresting his jacket and shirt over his head and down his arms, but not off because of the electro-cuffs that still bound his wrists. His back exposed, Ben was held immobile by the bug-bitch's whip, his own clothes, and a foot against the back of his head.

"May I suggest that you start at his shoulder blades?" Ben could hear the sadistic glee in her voice.

"An excellent suggestion, dear sister." Ben had no other warning before the blade bit into his back.

----------- x ----------

The platoon of bug-aliens was no match for Kevin, who had become a veritable one-man army. Using the near-indestructible Petrosapien arm to pierce their armor and exoskeletons, Kevin took advantage of the delightful flammability of the bugs' acid innards. His speed had increased, giving him the agility to dodge the bugs' attacks and to launch counterstrikes before they realized they had missed the mutant.

Within minutes, the 50 bugs had become a pile of burnt shells and weapons. Kevin stood over the remains as he seethed with anger. '_I need to find Ben, not grunge around with these lowlifes._' His newly regained speed took him across the ship to what used to be the gladiator arena. It wasn't an arena anymore. The giant room had been rebuilt into a series of hallways and rooms. Kevin kicked a door open, only to be confronted with some sort of oddly shaped, but thankfully empty, bed.

'_Not what I wanted to see. Fuck, this is only confirming what I think that bug-bitch is going to do to Ben._' Kevin left the room, intent on bashing down every door, but another platoon of bug-soldiers blocked his way. As he turned to go back the way he came, Kevin was faced with more bug-soldiers. They were fencing him in.

"That's _it_! I have _had_ it with these motherfucking bugs on this motherfucking ship!" With a near savage roar, Kevin barreled into the mob of bugs, arm blazing and fists crushing.

----------- x ----------

Ben wanted to scream, but he knew that was exactly what his tormentors wanted. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of hearing how much they were hurting him. This resistance only angered the Zopht siblings more. What started as simple cuts became long gouging slashes across his back. From the way the two aliens spoke in their native tongue, Ben figured this was more than random knife-marks. The were _carving_ something into him.

'_What did I do to deserve this done to me?_' The young metamorph's fingers clenched into fists as he tried to stave off the sharp gashes and the just-as-sharp throbs. '_Please let Kevin have escaped this. He doesn't need anymore pain. It's only the least I can do to protect him._'

As if hearing his thoughts, Sagark drew a particularly deep slash across Ben's lower back. He couldn't hold in the screams any longer.

----------- x ----------

Kevin made his way down the corridor, smashing doors and buggy-guards, still desperately searching for the boy he had grown to love. After a while, the bugs stopped coming. He had either burnt them all or scared them off with his near-psychopathic rampage.

Alone in another hall, Kevin finally stopped to rest. His golden eyes closed momentarily as he fought to keep the energy powering his new form from overtaking him completely. That was when he heard it. A scream. _Ben's_ scream.

----------- x ----------

Nowhere near done, ladies. I'm thinking Kev rescuing Ben soon, but the baddies get away. The boys'll have to heal up and de-mutantify before they can finish the bugs off. Besides, the way we've wrote this… they don't even know they're in love yet! Only Kevin's really acknowledged it. And that was just now.

Do something awesome, _**Goddess-of-da-Cheeseburgers**_! Please? **begs**


	11. Chapter 11

**Team Bananafishstickers' "Grudge Match Redux" Post #11!** by Goddess-of-Da-Cheeseburgers

*cracks knuckles* I skimped out on the bentoture a couple posts ago, yeah. Since today was a snow day for me, I had planned to spend the whole day writing it. My friends, however, decided to kidnap me and weasel me into a snowball fight of epic proportions. If this seems disjointed somewhere along the line, that's probably the point when I was dragged out into the snow and used as a moving target.

---

"Thinner cuts...They leave more delicate, _artful_ scars." Sagark explained slowly, barely tracing the tip of the knife down Ben's back. Though his scream had faded, the alien could still sense the faint echoes around the room. He flashed a smile to his sister, "Unlike the 'tattoos' that humans decorate themselves with, these will last longer. They won't fade as badly or otherwise taint the skin with ink."

Ben gritted his teeth, breathing shallowly after his ragged scream. Torture scenes in movies and on television always seemed so much easier to deal with—hell that one part of '_The Punisher_' had even been funny—but this was something else. These two bugs weren't torturing him for information, they were just torturing him. Drawing pretty patterns on his back with a knife, what the hell was this? He choked back a strangled sob, breath hitching in his throat, and bit down on the bunched up sleeve that had been pushed down his arm.

Silla ground her heel into the base of his skull, "It's no fun if you don't scream, human." Ben made a muffled grunt, though the sour expression on his face was hidden by the jacket pulled over his head, "Brother, he'll bleed to death if you keep cutting so deeply...Bear in mind that the human nervous system is easy to damage as well..." The dragonfly-lady eyes the gash adorning the brunet's lower back.

"I know what I'm doing, sister." Sagark growled back snidely, "That is, however, part of our customer's emblem. He requested a deep cut, but it's not deep enough to cause permanent damage. I made sure of that!" He threw the knife aside, irritated, and Ben heard him reach for something else.

----------- x ----------

Kevin snarled as two small pinpricks struck his back. He struggled to reach it whatever had landed on him, but stopped when the objects let loose a pulse of electricity. Blame it on the old familiarity of his malformed arms or just plain instinct, Kevin absorbed the energy without a second thought. His shoulders jerked at the sudden, pleasant charge to his tired body. It was an excess of energy—probably meant to kill him—and Kevin wasn't quite certain what he should do with it. His body took the choice away from him, however, and Kevin felt the muscles of his back ripple and grow.

Layered shirts tore and hung limply from Kevin's shoulders, exposing skin that definitely bore a reddish tint now. Unlike the voluntary shift Kevin had taken before, swapping out his arms for stronger stuff, this change stretched his muscles awkwardly and ripped his clothes apart. A stubby turquoise and black tail strained uncomfortably against the seam of his jeans, thin, translucent wings hung limply from his shoulders, and an extra set of thin, hairless arms dangled uselessly beneath his Pyronite and Petrosapien arms. When Kevin turned to face the roach that had launched the stunner at him, the alien recoiled. The mutant's dark eyebrow had caved in to form a second eye socket above the first, containing a patch of useless nerves without an eyeball to control.

Kevin scowled and crossed the hall in a few short strides, "If you're going to start something like this, you better learn how to finish the damn job." He grabbed the roach by the throat with his Pyronite hand and what he could only assume was a taser with his Petrosapien hand. Ignoring the bug's choked whine and the smell of burning exoskeleton, Kevin pulled the trigger. Another pulse of electricity arced through his body, had he used the charge to finish his transformation.

A solid yellow eyeball filled the empty socket while his other eye bulged into the gecko-like Galvan eye. The long, flexible tail ripped clear through the back of his now-shredded jeans and whipped about happily, while the second pair of weak arms bulged with muscle and grew thick orange fur. Kevin grinned wildly and stretched, throwing the roach aside almost lazily.

"I forgot how fucking _good_ this feels."

----------- x ----------

"It isssss asssss you sssssay, my dear friendsssss." A third, oily voice cut in, "And the cussssstomer issss alwaysssss right." The way the speaker dragged out his "s" sounds was prominent without being obnoxious, like a heavy foreign accent.

Ben flinched, alarmed by the voice. He hadn't noticed another person in the room! The involuntary twitch, however, brought Ben's bared and bleeding back into contact with the damp rag that Sagark had reached for. The cooling sensation against his throbbing back was nice...But then Ben realized that the rag was soaked in iodine tincture.

His scream drowned out the Omnitrix's weak declaration of "Genetic anomaly detected."

---

Notes:

--This is why I have issues with transformation sequences/evolutions. _What happens if they get stuck somewhere in between?_

--Lots of legends about dragonflies associate them with snakes, namely as servants to snakes ("gwas-y-neidr" from Welsh, meaning "adder's servant" or the term "snake-doctor" from the Southern U.S.), so I figured HEY WHY THE HELL NOT?

--I'm pretty sure iodine stings like a mother when it's put on open cuts. I wouldn't know, I was on Vicodin when I used it for my stitches. XD

-- Iodine tincture does increase scar tissue production, though, which seems like it would work for our (evil) purposes.__

_**Cybra**_, take the wheel!


	12. Chapter 12

_**Team Bananafishstickers Post #12 **_ by Cybra

blackmystique told me to go on ahead and skip her turn since she wasn't feeling well. Feel better!

Another note, I almost lost all of this when I messed up a little and ended up backing up. I nearly cried.

----------x----------

Roaches exploded like popcorn kernels as the Pyronite arm blazed brightly. Those were the lucky ones. The ones who felt the wrath of the Petrosapien arm weakly struggled as jagged pieces of crystal pinned them to the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling. All the while, the violent mutant rampaged about, all three eyes searching for their target.

The roaches had stopped actively attacking now. Instead, they fled much like their Earthen counterparts. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't move nearly as fast as Kevin with his Kineceleran legs.

The thick striped tail wrapped around one of the roaches and then jerked swiftly back, tearing the bug's head clean off. Meanwhile, the pair of Vulpimancer arms latched onto another two roaches.

"Where is Ben?!" Kevin snarled, all three eyes glaring.

The aliens screeched and struggled in his grip, trying to free themselves. Their shrieking added a strange counterpoint to the low-pitched blare of an alarm.

Neither sound, however, drowned out the very human scream.

"_**Ben!**_"

The amalgamation of the Tennyson boy's first ten aliens produced a large crystal shard from his Petrosapien arm, skewering both of his captives and pinning them to a third against the wall. He held out his Pyronite arm, a jet of flame turning the insect troops before him extra crispy, a few even exploding as others had done.

He raced past their corpses, heading in the direction of the screaming. He bared his teeth as he slashed and burned fleeing guards out of his way.

Whoever had brought such agony to the Tennyson boy would beg for death by the time he got through with them.

-----------x----------

Ben's screaming only stopped when his throat became too hoarse to continue. He shuddered and shook as the two insects backed respectfully away and their client approached.

This new alien slithered on its belly like a snake before straightening up. Thin legs and arms then parted from the serpentine body. The alien reached out, a scaled hand running along the new cuts that decorated the human's back.

"Perfect. Abssssssolutely perfect," the alien hissed, its yellow eyes seeming to drink in Ben's form. "Exssssquisssite."

The brunette winced from not just the touch but a bit of saliva that escaped with each hiss. But his throat hurt too much to even offer a "say it, don't spray it" comment. Instead, he laid there, hardly able to move without pain.

His fingers moved toward the Omnitrix which seemed to be regaining its own strength. It started glowing an angry green. The watch had acted on its own before, and Ben wondered what it might try to do now.

'_I don't care,_' Ben decided. '_I just want it to stop_.'

Then the door literally exploded inward, a massive fireball propelling it in Silla and Sagark's direction. The pair buzzed hastily away on their dragonfly wings, barely managing to miss the door along with the massive crystal shards that followed it. The serpentine alien swiveled his entire body about to get a better look as a massive shadow appeared in the smoke.

Ben started losing consciousness, unable to deal with the agony of his back any longer. However, he remained awake long enough to see the Omnitrix's face start to spin.

-----------x----------

And now it's your turn again _**Pan2dapan**_!


	13. Chapter 13

_**Grudge Match Redux, A Bananafishstickers Joint, episode THIRTEEN**_ by Pan2dapan

Today, I:  
- Pimped sammiches to patrons for about 6 hours  
- started to watch Ben10 season 3  
- fell asleep during 'Weather Monster' [I started there cause I had already watched the first ones]  
- napped for about 2 hours  
- woke up and watched the rest of season 3  
- was supremely pissed by the sheer lack of Kevin in season 3.  
- wrote my post

Man. I don't do much sometimes. XD

Last time on Grudge Match Redux, we find our heroes in quite a quagmire, and not the giggedy giggedy kind. Ben, ritualistically scarred. Kevin, re-mutated. Neo-Mutie!Kev destroys a platoon of cockroach aliens. Ben gets a spit shower from a snake. Finally, our heroes are reunited!

----------x----------

The fireball hit the wall, quickly igniting the sheer fabric draped along it. Shards of crystal and a primal yell followed it.

"Where is he? Where is Ben, you fucking pieces of shit!!" Kevin howled as he practically ripped the door frame from the wall and entered the room, all three eyes scanning for his Ben.

Silla glared down from her perch near the ceiling. "Who are you and how dare you burst into my quarters!"

Kevin spit Stinkfly goo at her and lit it on fire using his Pyronite arm, like he was taught so long ago on this very ship. "I don't think you have any place asking questions here, you bug-bitch." Looking around the slowing incinerating room, Kevin saw him, facedown in a pile of pillows, hands bound and covered in blood. If at any moment yellow eyes could have changed to red, it was now.

"What have you done to Ben?" Kevin ran to the unconcious hero's side, his mutated hand hovering over Ben's bleeding back.

Sagark laughed haughtily. The sound grated the very endings of the mutant's nerves. Turning to face the Anisopteran man, Kevin readied a fireball.

"Don't you like the improvements we made to him, _Kevin 11_?"

Taken aback by being called that name again, Kevin looked at the alien quizzically. "How do you know that name?"

"I know all sorts of things, mutant. Surely, I would know about who piloted this ship before we aquired it."

"Whatever. What did you do to Ben." The fire expanded in his hand threateningly.

"Don't be so rash. It is merely decoration. He will live."

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" The fireball now sailed toward Sagark, the Anisopteran quickly dodging it, flipping a switch on the wall, triggering a siren.

"_Fucking hell_." Kevin gingerly wrapped Ben in the gauzy blanket he laid upon, holding him gently in his two Vulpimancer arms, knowing the fur would be easier on the injured hero than the combination of Pyronite and Petrosapien appendages, and fled the room.

-----------x----------

Notes:  
- FUCK YEAH. Um yeah. No murdering here, getting Ben outta there would be more important to Kev than killing some bugs I think. XD  
- Anisopteran is the race that Sagark and Silla are. The name comes from Anisoptera, the infraorder of the suborder that dragonflies are classified under.

Torch to you, _**Minty Chinchilla**_. Give me goodtiemz. XD Crank it to ELEVEN.


	14. Chapter 14

_**"Grudge Match Redux" Post #14**_ by Minty Chinchilla

Bringing the boys home.

*****

Kevin cradled Ben in his Vulpimancer arms, and rushed the doorway he had blown up earlier. The alarm blaring would bring out more of the cockroaches, Kevin was sure. Forgoing destroying the bastards who had hurt Ben, Kevin tried to cover as much ground as possible until bugs overran him. The escape pods weren't too far if he used his speed.

----------- x ----------

"Track them down," Sagark's grating voice commanded the cockroach soldiers. "We can't afford to lose the human boy _or_ the mutant!"

"Ssssssssagark, what isssss sssso sssspecial about that monssssster?" The Zophts' reptilian client slithered across the room to the irate dragonfly.

"He piloted this ship before Silla got it! He knows the layout, the shortcuts, the controls, EVERYTHING!" Sagark waved one of his bloody hands at the door. "_And_ he is the _most_ wanted criminal in this galactic cluster! Do you have _any_ idea how much money we could get from _anyone_ if we captured him? Silla was _insane_ to try and dispose of him! She should have placed him under tighter security!"

"_ME?!?_ I didn't know who he was! I was under the impression that the infamous 'Kevin 11' was _not_ human! How was I supposed to know that metal-absorbing _boy_ had a bounty on him?" Silla's infuriated shrieking was only heightened by the burns Kevin had left on her body. Her exoskeleton was cracked and charred, her left eye was covered in a crispy film, and her wings were peppered with scorch marks and holes from the crystal shards. Blue blood oozed from the ruptured veins in her wings and her two right arms hung limp at her side.

"You should have listened to me when I told you he was _from Earth_! How many intelligent species live on Earth? NOT MANY. And the _only_ Earth species to have made _any_ contact beyond their planet? HUMANS. How hard is it to put that together?!?" Sagark threw the knife he had used to slice Ben's back at his sister. She gave another shriek and dove to avoid more injuries.

"Now, now, Ssssssagark. Do not be too harssssh on your ssssissster." The limbed snake turned to face both siblings at once. "However, if you do not retrieve the boy you promissssssed me, I _will_ have you both desssssstroyed." With that the snake slithered through the wreckage and left the room.

"Get yourself cleaned up Silla. I'll make a plan to track them down. Shouldn't be too hard. If they get off the ship at all they'll just head back to Earth and that town we found them in." Sagark stomped out of the room, leaving a broken dragonfly behind him.

----------- x ----------

The bug-soldiers were hard pressed to keep up with Kevin. He was speeding through the hallways of the ship as fast as he could go, fully intent on getting Ben back home. '_Gwen will know what to do about his back. I never had to deal with this shit when I was off on my own._' He plowed his way through the little bugs like they were nothing but water. His free arms were slicing, dicing, and frying any bugs that he didn't run over. He was on a rampage now.

Kevin broke down the door blocking his way to the escape pods. He crushed the bugs that had stationed themselves there earlier. Electricity-laced spears were absorbed and broken, shields snapped in pieces like twigs.

"You fucking bastards! I'm not gonna let you get in my way!" Kevin set the last standing soldiers afire and kicked their charred remains aside. He hurtled into an open pod and shut the door behind him. He set the coordinates for an abandoned lot off the beaten path near his apartment. '_I knew it would help to know the galactic coordinates for this stuff._' Still holding onto Ben's broken form, Kevin settled down to wait for the pod to reach Earth. By the time the rest of the bugs and Sagark had made their way to the escape pod room, Kevin and Ben were halfway home.

----------- x ----------

"Nnnnngh…" Ben felt groggy and his body refused to cooperate with his brain. He felt pain lancing through his back as he was being moved. '_Wait… moved? Who's moving me?!?!_' Ben's mental alarms went off when he realized the arms holding him weren't human. They were _furry_. An oddly familiar kind of furry. "Wha—? Where… what? Huh?" Ben's eyes opened more. The first thing he saw was stars. Distant though, as though they were nowhere near by. As though he was back home, on Earth. He shifted to look around more. Trees and a path surrounded him. '_This looks like that park by Kevin's apartment. KEVIN!_' Ben panicked when he realized that he was back on Earth but wasn't seeing Kevin. His mind jumped to the furry arms carrying him. '_No… could they be?_' Ben turned his aching head to look to the other side. The sight he hoped, yet dreaded all the same, to see affronted him. A strange conglomeration of the aliens from the Omnitrix when he was ten hovered above him, carried him. It looked like Kevin, but not. Something was different. He was leaner than the Kevin 11 Ben remembered, more _human_, even. "Kevin?"

Three golden mismatched eyes looked down at him, a set of fangs glinting in the moonlight as he smiled gently. "Don't worry Benji. I've got you."

*****

I squee'd when I thought of that last bit. XD  
Passing us back around to _**Goddess-of-da-Cheeseburgers**_!


	15. Chapter 15

_**A Slacker's Contribution: Team Bananafishstickers Post #15**_ by Goddess-of-da-Cheesburgers

*should be studying for the ACTs*

⌐_⌐

*is not studying for the ACTs*

-----

After Sagark and their serpentine customer left, Silla picked her way out of the wreckage carefully. She gave her wings an experimental flicker, and sighed in relief when they moved with greater ease than she had expected. Well at least something in this madhouse worked. The dragonfly scowled at the remains of her quarters before trudging off to the ship's infirmary.

The medic on duty, a mantis with soft-looking red eyes, turned to Silla as she entered the clinic. He jumped, startled and uncertain in equal measures, before moving towards the dragonfly on four spindly legs. Long, blade-like fingers reached out reassuringly, "Mistress Silla, what..." He trailed off nervously, curious as to why the slave-trader was in such a state, but too demure to ask.

"Don't ask, slave. Patch me up, but don't ask." Silla settled as gracefully as possible on the tiny cot and level a steady, if pained, gaze at the mantis. This one had been the previous medic's _personal_ slave. She'd suspected foul play when the medic, Yallar, had been found dead less than a day after remarking that she was growing tired of her pet, but Silla really couldn't blame the young mantid. Yallar had never been too careful about hiding her cookbooks.

----------- x ----------

"You're cut up bad, Benji...Stay still." Kevin's attempt at comfort went unheard as Ben slipped back into unconsciousness. The mutant shifted him carefully, balancing Ben's cuffed and tangled arm over his Pyronite shoulder. The heated limb had cooled considerably, to the point when the living rock was only pleasantly warm rather than scorching. One of the furry arms curled behind the brunet's knees hesitated a moment before sliding up to hold Ben's rear in place. Kevin hooked a claw carefully through Ben's belt before taking a jump.

The mutant's powerful legs sent him nearly a story up before he set the wings to work. Ben's added weight would have been nothing under normal conditions, but Kevin hadn't exercised—or possessed—his flight muscles for a few years now. He wavered in the air before leveling out and rising up to his window. He fumbled with the window for a moment with his Petrosapien hand, a lost cause as the smooth, blunt fingers were useless for this particular task. When Kevin's wings stuttered, causing him to drop a few inches, he made up his mind and smashed the window in with the diamond-hard fist. This was a bad neighborhood, what was one more broken window?

----------- x ----------

"Kevin, I have to take a big test in about four hours. What could be so important that you're calling me before sunrise?" Gwen rubbed at her eyes with the heel of her palm, waiting for a question about why she'd be taking a test on a Saturday, but the expected response never came. Instead, she heard Kevin urgently insisting that Ben was badly hurt and she needed to come do her not-magic shit _right now_. The redhead hurriedly assured him that she'd be right over don't worry she'd track Ben's manna seventh floor broken window right she'd be there in fifteen minutes.

True to her word, Gwen arrived speedily with one of Ben's spare t-shirts clutched in her hand. She slipped through the window, mindful of the glass shards, only to stop cold and gasp. Battling the forces of ultimate evil in the form of Vilgax and hunting down the DNAliens, among other species, had shown her some strange things. Even stranger was the appearance of some of her grandfather's culinary experiments. Nothing, however, could compare to this.

Ben was stretched out flat on his stomach and on a blood-stained sheet, barely clinging to consciousness, with some sort of medicated cream slathered over his back. Squatting in front of him and wearing the most ridiculous pair of glasses Gwen had ever seen was Kevin in his mutated form. The mishmash of aliens grunted and beckoned her over tensely.

"He was cut up by a crazy fucker with a sharp knife. It stinks like iodine and I put some first-aid cream on his back, so it should be okay. You just need to close up those cuts before he bleeds out." Kevin pried carefully at the spinning face Omnitrix with a different tool in each of his four hands. When Gwen hesitated, he growled slightly and snapped his tail out. The prehensile appendage curled tightly around the hem of the redhead's shirt and tugged her forward, "Your cousin. Now. We can't take him to a hospital."

Shaking off her shock, Gwen dropped to her knees next to Ben, "You're right; they'd ask too many questions about how he got hurt." Gwen gathered the glowing pink aura around her fingertips.

Kevin paused in his work and looked up with a thoughtful expression on his face, "I was gonna say that they'd ask too many questions about me." When Gwen stared at the mutant with a perplexed expression, Kevin elaborated, "I'm not leaving him. Not like this."

Gwen gave Kevin a scrutinizing gaze before nodding approvingly. She lowered her fingers to Ben's back, but paused to ask, "What's with the glasses?" Ben, who had been largely silent up to this point, made a grunt that sounded like a cross between a groan of pain and an amused snort. The manna wielder relaxed slightly; if Ben was coherent enough to find Kevin's ridiculous glasses funny, he would be fine.

Kevin smiled faintly at Ben's sound, "I normally wear contacts. You'd be surprised how much they bother you when two of your eyes change shape and you happen to grow a third." The plain metal frames, one large and round on the right an two small and slanted stacked neatly on top of each other on the left looked like they'd been put together with a soldering iron and some wire. Gwen could only guess who he'd gotten properly shaped prescription lenses from. Kevin had already looked back to the Omnitrix, dismissing any further questions. Now that she was closer, Gwen could see a foreign metal band around the face of the watch. The spinning watch face looked as though it was trying to aid Kevin in prying the band off, but no such luck yet.

Shaking off the distraction, Gwen leaned over Ben's back to inspect the damage. For the most part, the circular cuts had stopped bleeding. In some of the deeper cuts, blood had congealed under the surface of the clear first-aid cream while the shallower cuts were already beginning to scab over. Gwen sighed to relax herself and got to work. She passed her hands over Ben's back twice before setting her fingers against the first section of cuts. The thin slices began to close slowly under her soothing touch, forming raised scars. Frowning, she concentrated on closing the wounds. Clearing up the scar tissue could come later.

Still face down, Ben made an appreciative moan. The burning, throbbing pain in his back was steadily easing up under Gwen's hands, and the Omnitrix, which had previously tightened on his wrist when Kevin started prying, had loosened up once it realized that the genetic anomaly presently poking it with wires and picks was trying to get the inhibitor off rather than cause further damage.

The trio fell into silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. With a half-roar, half-shout of triumph, the metal band popped off the watch face. The Omnitrix echoed Kevin's glee with its own little beep. Gwen sat back on her heels and wiped traces of first-air cream off her fingers and Ben lifted his head a few inches. He stared pensively at Kevin and then to Gwen before sighing and dropping his head onto his now-folded arms, "I suppose we need to talk about what happened??"

Kevin and Gwen glanced at each other and came to a wordless conclusion. The mutant lifted Ben carefully and pulled his against his chest, "Not now. We'll rest up first." Ben sighed contentedly rested his head against the rough, Tetramandian skin of Kevin's chest. Kevin, mindful of the freshly-healed wounds on Ben's back, curled a furry and blood-matted arm around the brunet's backside again while Gwen shifted to rest near her cousin and his misshapen guardian. The test could wait; healing took a lot of energy.

Besides, Ben was worlds more important to her.

-----

**Notes:**  
- It's completely and totally wrong, but I'm actually starting to like Silla...I LIKE ABUSED CHARACTERS I JUST WANT TO MAKE THEM HAPPY OKAY LEAVE ME ALONE. I like praying mantises.  
- I occasionally slide into little forays of stream-of-consciousness writing and I don't know how well it's going over with you guys. Should I keep it in my fics or nix it? It gets a little confusing, but it's kind of fun.  
- I'm entirely too amused by the thought of Kev wearing glasses.  
- I am even MORE amused by the thought of Mutie!Kev wearing glasses.  
- Used **Pan2dapan**'s design for the scars. HEY THEY REMIND ME OF TRANSMUTATION CIRCLES LOLFMA.  
- My internet dropped out, followed shortly afterwards by my whole computer. It, for some reason, ate more than a page of Gwen-awesomeness and funny dialogue. So you get...This. I'm unhappy.  
- I REALLY NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLUG THINGS IN PROPERLY.

On to _**Cybra**_!


	16. Chapter 16

_**Grudge Match Redux Post #16**_ by Cybra

*****

Gwen woke to the smell of bacon and eggs which was, basically, the smell of ambrosia to anyone who had gone to sleep exhausted and woken up ravenous. Considering the amount of healing she'd done for her cousin the previous night, this was perfectly understandable.

Her first thought was to check up on Ben, which she did. He lied stretched out on the bed, wincing every time a muscle twitched. His eyes were still closed, but his dreams were clearly far from restful. She pushed a lock of his hair out of his face, feeling useless. He was still hurting, but she currently didn't have the power to help ease it.

Instead, she resumed her walk to the kitchen, her mouth starting to water. Refueling would help the power situation. She glanced back in the direction of Kevin's room. Immediately, she rejected the thought of waking the brunette. He needed to rest more than anything. She would bring him food when she had to wake him up to resume healing him.

Kevin stood leaning against one of the counters. The muscles of his misshapen body were all tense, and she could hear him moaning as his fingers cracked the counter.

"Kevin!" she called in alarm, running over to him.

She stopped as she saw his skin turn peach and the Vulpimancer arms start to shrink. The Piscciss Volan anglerfish-like lure started to retract as his Lepidopterran wings shriveled.

"That's it," she encouraged. "Keep going. You're getting there."

His body spasmed, and the changes reversed back into his fully-mutated self. He snarled, almost shattering the countertop by pounding his Petrosapien fist against it. "Dammit! Why can't I change back?! I did it before, so why not _now?!_"

"You're probably still exhausted from your escape. And not even the Omnitrix can manipulate DNA without a lot of energy." She reached out to pat his back. "Get something to eat, rest up, then try again."

The mutant scowled, a highly unpleasant sight. It pushed Gwen's mind back five years to when the amalgamation had pursued her cousin, intending to destroy him. For a moment, old instincts started to kick in. She reached down inside herself, automatically looking for power, as she took a step to place herself between Kevin and the bedroom where Ben slept. Fortunately, she didn't have any power, and her mind reminded her that Kevin—no matter what his form—was on _their_ side now.

Kevin motioned with his Pyronite arm at plates heaped with bacon, eggs, and pancakes. "Help yourself."

"Jeez, I know boys eat a lot, but isn't this a bit much?"

"My body needs a little extra to keep going when I'm like this."

Gwen took the hint, dropping the subject and reaching for a slice of bacon.

"So how's he doing?" the mutant asked.

"He looks like he's having nightmares. Considering what got carved into his back..." She shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if he had nightmares for years about this." She met two of Kevin's three eyes, the third focused on the door to the bedroom. "Why you two? Were they after the Omnitrix? I'm still a little in the dark."

"Just bad luck. They wanted humans for their customers. Ben and I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what these "customers" were after. Her lips twisted in a feral snarl.

If she ever saw _anyone_ from that ship, they were going to _wish_ they were toast.

Kevin seemed to approve of the sentiment. "Ben seemed to match what they were after. Stuck that inhibiter on the Omnitrix and everything."

"Wait. If it was random, why have an inhibiter on hand to stop the Omnitrix?"

Kevin offered a casual shrug. "It's pretty standard alien tech. Mostly used by the Plumbers to stop criminal technology while busting a perp. Unfortunately, not hard to purchase out there."

"Oh."

She felt a little silly, looking for conspiracies where none apparently existed. To distract her hands, she rolled up a fried egg and some bacon in a pancake, eating it like a burrito. A fast glance at the clock showed that she'd missed her test entirely, and she found herself completely unable to care.

"Still..."

Something in Kevin's tone made her tense again.

He had his Vulpimancer arms crossed, his Pyronite arm wrapped around his body as his Petrosapien hand rubbed his chin. His scowl looked concerned. "Why bother with having one on hand? I mean, Earth's weaponry and technology is pretty primative by galactic standards. Too simple for the inhibiters."

"A trap?"

"Maybe, but with the way the queen bitch and her brother acted, they might not even know."

-----------x----------

Pepaa slithered through the corridors, hissing wordlessly to himself. So close. So close...

Fortunately, they'd used his knife as he'd insisted from the beginning. It wouldn't be too hard to find the boy. And, as a delightful surprise and an impressive bonus, he'd have the Omnitrix as well. Even better than he'd hoped for.

-----------x----------

Ben groaned, the only thing preventing him from tossing and turning in his sleep was the dull throb of pain from the markings on his back.

The Omnitrix sat quietly on his wrist, silently monitoring its host. So far, it seemed that the human teen wouldn't suffer too many ill-effects from the experience.

However, the unfamiliar technology now in his bloodstream was probably worth keeping an eye on.

*****

I am Lamey McLamerson when it comes to names. For the client, I just spelled "Aapep" backwards.

On to you, _**Pan2dapan**_!


	17. Chapter 17

_**Where in the World is Bananafishsticker number17diego?**_ by Pan2dapan

Hoo opp hoo hoo hoo be hoo opp....

Oh, Sorry. I was jammin.

So yeah, I woulda totally have had this done last night, but I worked late and when I got home, I pretty much vegged out and passed out when I was watching Race Against Time. Although I did get up this morning and finish it. XD!!

Anyway, yeah, here we go...

----------- x ----------

Sagark sat in his quarters, the slender fingers of his right hand flying across the screen in front of him, scanning through read-outs and reports, his left index finger running slowly over his bottom lip, in thought.

"There's something not right here. I should be able to track that inhibitor...I wonder...."

Now both hands manipulated the screen, bringing up video of the time the human with the green eyes spent in Silla's room. He watched with interest at the exchange between his sister and the Earthling, then his own entrance and the scarification that was performed.

Suddenly, the Anisopteran pressed a button on the desk and screeched "Nogoori! Get me that dagger that Pepaa gave Silla, NOW."

The other end gave some slight static before Nogoori's startled voice gave its affirmation of his new task.

A few terse moments later, Nogoori returned, holding the weapon. He handed it to his master and bowed before taking his leave, his tail swishing nervously behind him.

Sagark began to slowly survey the instrument. He moved over to a table on the other side of the room, various scientific devices littering it. He placed it under is microscope and switched it on.

"That lying piece of Kreyot feces."

----------- x ----------

Ben slowly opened his eyes, his eyes assaulted by the bright light shining in to Kevin's room. _Wait, Kevin's room?_ Blinking profusely, the metamorph looked around the room. He had been in this particular room enough times to know for sure. Slowly, he tried to sit up, his back sparking with pain. Seething through his teeth, he sat up on the bed. Taking a moment, he carefully stood and shuffled along the carpet into the bathroom.

The teen bent down ever-so-slightly and splashed cool water onto his face. Feeling the newly healed skin stretch uncomfortably, he turned and caught a glimpse of his back in the mirror. He saw the ornate markings scarred into his flesh and winced, remembering how they were obtained.

"It wasn't a dream..." his voice croaked softly, strained from the screaming the night before.

He had to find Kevin. He needed to know if he was okay. His memories were really fuzzy after those siblings started torturing him. He vaguely remembered hearing Kevin's voice, but all the images were fuzzy. But he did remember one thing. Silla's brother. Referring to Kevin as Kevin 11. And that scared him.

The brunette, as quickly as his body would allow, made his way out of Kevin's room and downstairs, following Kevin and Gwen's voices. Well, that sounds normal. Maybe everything's okay....

----------- x ----------

Kevin and Gwen were exchanging information and ideas as they ate breakfast.

"So, you think we need to go back to the MegaCruiser why now?"

The mutant swallowed the egg in his mouth before answering, "One. They're just gonna come back. I am not about to let them know where our safe spots are. Two. I wanna know what they were doing with an inhibitor in a level two system. And most importantly, three. Revenge."

The redhead took a drink of juice and set her cup down slowly. "What are we going to do about your...condition?"

"It's not important right now," Kevin said matter-of-factly. "What's important is--"

"No, Kevin. It is important." A third voice joined the male and female. Ben stood in the doorway, leaning against it for support, glaring daggers at Kevin. "We are going to return you back to your normal form, THEN we'll talk tactics."

----------- x ----------

Notes:

-Yeah, LOOOOONG post, ne? Well, I really wanted to touch on Sagark's and Ben's POV's.

- I do hope no one wants to kill Sagark yet. I do like having him start shit. I've taken such a shine to him. XD


	18. Chapter 18

_**Team Bananafishstickers' "Grudge Match Redux" Post #18 **_by Minty Chinchilla

Fuck studying for my near eastern art exam. Not like I can tell the difference between one temple floor plan from another. They all look the same!

Pan2dapan requested fluff. And fluff you shall receive. Sort of. It's more angsty, actually. Gah. That's what happens when I try to write fluff. Angst comes out. It gets kind of sappy near the end though.

-----

Silla limped down the corridor, cradling her broken right arms. Her wings had healed quickly, so the holes were gone, but they were still too weak to carry her weight. Her left eye was too burnt to save, so she had resorted to wearing an eye patch.

She knew her brother wanted her to see the knife they had used to cut up the human boy, but she could hardly care why. All she wanted was to keep her business going, to keep earning the money that she needed to keep the hunk of junk that was the Mega Cruiser running. But if she couldn't work like she used to because of her appearance, she was going to take it out on Sagark. It was his fault the Earthlings got away. Maybe it was the eye patch, but Silla was feeling _pirate-y_.

----------- x ----------

_"We are going to return you back to your normal form, THEN we'll talk tactics."_

"There's no way in hell I'm going to let you stay like that," Ben's voice rose as he continued to speak. "You _hated_ being like this when you were a kid. I don't believe you would want to stay like this now!" He was nearly yelling and would have continued if his back hadn't chose that moment to give a particularly nasty throb. He started to slide down the doorframe, but Kevin's Vulpimancer arms caught him before he could reach the floor.

"Dammit, Ben. Take care of yourself before you worry about me." Kevin pulled Ben closer to his body, as though to protect the still-human boy from the big bad doorframe.

"I could say the same about you." Ben still glared at Kevin, but it was softer.

"Too bad. You're not going to," Kevin lifted Ben up and carried him over to the table where Gwen was still sitting. "You're gonna eat instead." Kevin propped Ben up in a chair, careful not to jostle his back. Gwen shook herself out of her shock to get Ben a plate of pancakes and scrambled eggs.

"Kevin's right, Ben. I couldn't fully heal your back, so you need to focus on yourself right now. You won't be able to fight when those aliens come back for you."

Kevin spun around, his tail barely missing the wall behind him. "We don't want those bastards to come back for him, _at all_. And I'm better suited like this to stop them anyway."

"Just because you can fight better doesn't mean you should stay this way!" Ben nearly choked on his pancake. "_What if you can't change back?_" Kevin froze. Ben had just voiced the one thing he was worried about last night. Well, the one thing other than Ben, anyway.

"Fuck, Ben, don't you think I've _tried_ changing back yet? I _can't_. The way I changed back when I was a kid doesn't work now! It's like I can't concentrate properly or something! I'm too fucking damn worried about _you!_" Kevin's four arms flailed around him as the panic from the night before started to come back.

Gwen was starting to feel a little bit awkward. She wasn't on the Mega Cruiser with the boys so she had no idea what really happened, particularly to Ben since Kevin probably didn't even know himself. She didn't know what to do to break the tension that had risen out of Kevin and Ben's argument. _What happened to the boys who used to be so selfish?_ _Honestly, could they be even more worried about each other? They're acting like they're in love or something!_ Gwen was broken away from her ponderings when Ben stood up and walked towards Kevin.

"Kev, c'mon. We're going to turn you back. No matter what. This isn't you. It's just the DNA from the Omnitrix overwhelming your human DNA. You're still you inside, I can tell when I look in your eyes."

_That seals it. Head-over-heels for each other, aren't they?_ Gwen was positive they were. Even if they didn't know it themselves.

-----

**Notes:**

How's _that_ for fluff? Muahaha. I apologize for the "You're still you inside, I can tell when I look in your eyes." They're not cheesy love song lyrics. I swear. Dear goodness gracious, it's like I was channeling Cascada or something. But I wasn't! I was listening to blink-182 for cripes' sake! IT JUST CAME OUT! NOOOOO! And yet… I love it. **facepalm**

OK OK OK OK OK, so I recently rewatched Race Against Time, right? I totes stole Eon's explanation of the Omnitrix for Ben's line about the DNA overwhelming Kevin. Eon said that the Omnitrix times out after ten minutes as a fail-safe, in order to keep the alien DNA from overwhelming Ben's own human DNA, then he noodled with the thing, added his own DNA, and ka-zap! You get mini-Eon. Gwen had to give her colored-socks-coloring-feet speech to bring Ben back.

This is why Kevin mutated in the first place!!!!! He absorbed the energy and DNA from the Omnitrix, but he didn't absorb the _Omnitrix_. He didn't have that fail-safe to keep his own DNA from being taken over by the alien DNA. Again, he had no Omnitrix to keep the different aliens themselves separated from each other; so all ten aliens were jumbled up inside of his body. Thus, when he was doing all that transforming for such long periods of time, the alien DNA took over his body and the mish-mash of aliens inside him became a physical monster mash! Kevin was able to come back, but now he can't turn back into a human because, like I said above, he's too worried about Ben to concentrate properly on himself. He's going to need something akin to the colored socks speech to bring him back.

Oh, and that thing about the dangler/angler-lure thing-a-ma-jig always disappearing and reappearing and never staying consistent? Try this: Kevin was trying to turn back into his old self the whole time. The dangly thing was probably the easiest thing to absorb back into himself, but when he loses control, it comes back! IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!

Going around town, or at least back to **Goddess-of-da-Cheeseburgers**.


	19. Chapter 19

_**"Grudge Match Redux" Post #19**_ by Goddess-of-da-Cheeseburgers

I'm been feeling ill lately, but I made a miraculous recovery and typed this up.

---

Kevin turned his head aside, the blush creeping over his red skin nearly imperceptible. Instead of commenting, he steered the brunet back to the chair and gently forced him to sit down. Gwen placed a plate in front of her cousin and stepped back, planning an escape from the awkward silence presently hanging over the room.

Ben scowled at Kevin for avoiding the subject, but turned to the food placed in front of him nonetheless. Picking carefully around the eggs and ham, the brunet cut into the pancakes and ate quickly. With nothing to do but stare at Ben as he ate, Kevin noted the meat and eggs that had been pushed aside.

"You need the protein."

Ben swallowed the last bite of pancake and drained his orange juice, "I ate the pancakes, didn't I?

A low growl rippled through the mutant, "That's not good enough. If you don't eat meat, then you won't recover well." He crossed both sets of arms and glared, wishing he could see the brunet more clearly.

Ben shifted in his chair and crossed his arms as well, "Don't you growl at me. I don't eat meat."

Already edging out the doorway, Gwen sighed. In her worry, she'd forgotten Ben's recent diet change. In a feeble attempt to break the mounting tension, the redhead spoke up, "If I can borrow some clothes, I'll run out and get Ben something to eat." Kevin grunted, but his fuzzy glare stayed on the stubborn brunet sitting in front of him. Ben nodded, and stared right back with equal (if a little more focused) intensity.

Ten minutes later, Gwen had found a set of clothes that didn't smell too bad. After cinching the cloth belt tight around her waist and waving a hesitant good-bye to Ben and Kevin—she was fairly certain neither of them had blinked yet—the redhead left for the grocery store.

----------- x ----------

"Let usssss...Tesssst my new toy." Pepaa remarked to no one in particular. He slipped a small handheld device from under his tongue and tapped a few keys, a smirk spreading across his angular face.

----------- x ----------

Kevin broke the silence a few moments after Gwen left, "If you're not going to eat that..."

Ben shrugged carefully, "Go right ahead."

Kevin reached for the plate, "Not that I'm being greedy or anything, but I have three stomachs in this form." He wolfed the food down quickly, nearly swallowing Ben's fork at one point, and Ben could only stare.

He wasn't the high and mighty sort of vegetarian that preached the evils of eating animal products, and didn't mind eggs or milk when they were baked into bread or something. Just eating eggs, though...And all the grease with that bacon? Yuck.

Ben's train of thought ground to an abrupt halt and his body stiffened. Wide green eyes glazed over and his face bore a blank expression. A few of the shallow scratches remaining on his back, irritated by the sudden, rigid movement of his shoulders, opened and a few tiny droplets of blood beaded out.

Kevin, in the process of licking Ben's plate obnoxiously, paused and sniffed. The faint metallic scent from the few remaining scratches wasn't terribly concerning, but it was the brunet's stiff posture and vacant expression that alarmed the mutant.

---

Notes:

--Ever since Race Against Time, I've had this vague obsession with Ben's parents converting Ben into some super-neo-hippie-vegetarian-Ben who wears hemp shirts and listens to psychedelic rock. AND SO MY SECRET PASSION MANIFESTS ITSELF.

--I had to talk with my vegetarian friend on this one about how I should portray Ben. He was surprisingly cool about it, and told me that preachy vegetarians piss him off. SO BEN IS NOT A PREACHY VEGETARIAN.

--I hear Ben saying "Don't you growl at me." in the same tone of voice my friend uses to scold her puppy. It's absolutely hilarious.


	20. Chapter 20

Whoops, Minty lost track of the days of the week again. Sorry! Wish I had a stronger chapter to share. Next week'll be more exciting. I think...

-----

_**"Grudge Match Redux" post #20**_ by blackmystique

"Ben, is so—"

Ben interrupted, "I, um. I gotta go, I'm gonna go…I…bathroom. That's it."

Ben stood up sharply; knocking over the chair he was sitting in and rushed to the bathroom. Kevin heard the door close and the click of the lock. Ben turned on the water. Something was very wrong.

----------- x ----------

Ben felt trapped. His mind was cloudy and he had no idea what he was doing and why he was doing it. He closed the door, locked it, and turned on the faucet. Ben opened the window. He then looked down at his Omnitrix. Click, click, click, whir, woosh. He flew out the window.

----------- x ----------

Gwen was walking towards the store when a familiar shadow passed overhead. "Ben…"

----------- x ----------

"Yessss…return to me my sssweeeeet. Ss ss ss ss ss ss ss."

Notes: So, it's short but I wrote something? And all the "ss"s at the end there is an evil laugh. It's a snake laugh. Yes it is.


	21. Chapter 21

_**"Grudge Match Redux" Post #21 **_by Pan2dapan

Sorry, _**Cybra**_, I skipped you. OTL. I took my sweet ass time with this too, but I've been really busy/sick/tired/working lately. I caught a nasty case of the plague. hehe. Then there was this thing with all of my friends becoming really obsessed with Code Geass [which is purely awesome cause I think Suzaku is basically Ben. I mean they act a lot alike, and then there's the fact they both have brown hair and green eyes and are both voiced by Yuri Lowenthal thing going on but I digress. ] XD

----------- x ----------

Kevin sat at the table, the last remnants of breakfast devoured minutes ago. Ben still hadn't came back from the bathroom. The mutant got up and went to the door, the Pyronite fist hovering inches above the wood, noticing the sound of water running.

"Ben? Are you okay? Do you need some help?"

No reply.

"Seriously, Tennyson. Don't pout. We can work on my problem first. I'm just worried about you. Come on, open up or at least say something!"

Still no reply. Kevin's patience wore thin.

"I'm coming in now!" Kevin's hand easily broke the door down and he stepped inside, noting the faucet and the lack of Ben. Taking a better inspection of the bathroom, he saw the open window. _Then that means..._

"Shit."

Kevin ran out of the bathroom, threw open the front door and took off into the early morning. _Where does he think he's going? He's in no shape to be out now. Fuck. I shouldn't have left him alone. Goddamnit!_ Kevin's worries mixing with his anger crashed and stormed in his mind as he scoured the area for any trace of the metamorph.

Remembering Gwen, Kevin took out his phone, mid-flight and pressed her speed-dial digit, suddenly thankful that he had the good sense to do that.

"Hello? Kevin?" Gwen's voice answered after a couple of rings.

"Gwen. Ben's run off. I need you to track him."

"How could you do that?! I just healed him!"

"Anger later. Track now, Gwen."

"Fine. I'll call you back. Keep looking."

----------- x ----------

"I can't believe that I fell for that. Honestly!" Sagark screeched as he opened the door to the new room Silla had decided to occupy.

"What are you blathering about, brother?"

"That fucking... maggot Pepaa has just royally screwed us over, that's what, you idiot!"

"What a minute, go back. What?"

"Your client. That 'ceremonial' dagger he had us use. It's a fucking nanomachine injector! A FUCKING INJECTOR."

"Yeah? So? Why is that our problem? Maybe he wants to track his new pet?"

"Your lack of both eyes obviously affects your intelligence, sister. One: Nanomachines are a level four tech. Humans are a level two. Other than the less than sterling business we have going here, we're facing heavy jail time. Two: That human is _Ben Tennyson._"

"What? _The_ Ben 10?"

"Yeah. I wasn't exactly sure before, it has been 5 Earth years since any news of him has spread, but the reappearance of Kevin 11 was the final realization. Scarring the kid was one thing, but introducing nanomachines into his body could interfere with the Omnitrix."

"How bad?"

"Worse case senario? The end of us all."

"Pepaa is a dead man."

"No shit."

----------- x ----------

**IMPORTANT NOTE:**

**This is the last chapter going up for a while. Minty Chinchilla is the ff.n account updater, but is heading out for a while. Post #22 will be going up in August!! Thanks for reading, and check back then. Enjoy your summer while you're waiting!**


	22. Chapter 22

_**Team Bananafishsticker's "Grudge Match Redux" Post 22**_ by Minty Chinchilla

Whoot. I'm up now. Sorry for the long wait. I was off in the middle of nowhere. With no computer. I'm writing this as I'm watching the "Birds of a Feather" episode so this could get wonky. Whoopsie-daisy.

*****

Gwen concentrated on one of Ben's shirts, hoping to track his current whereabouts. After getting Kevin's phone call, she was worried. Ben was in no condition to go anywhere, let alone mysterious unknown places where he could get hurt even more. Gwen's worry increased when the signals locating Ben were wavering. It wasn't right. She grabbed a different shirt, hoping Ben's aura was stronger on it than the shirt she was using before. The signal connecting her to Ben stabilized. She pulled out her phone.

"Kevin? Ben's heading northwest, _really_ fast. I think he's gone Jetray. You might have a better chance keeping up with him if you use XLR8's speed on the ground. Try to go fast enough so nobody sees you."

"Got it. Don't think you can keep up?" Kevin's voice was static-y because of the wind rushing past him.

"There's no way I can keep up with you guys. I still haven't figured out how to teleport yet." Gwen hung up and continued to track Ben, ready to tell Kevin if Ben's path changed.

----------- x ----------

Back on the Mega Cruiser, Silla and Sagark were frantically running around the control room. Screens upon screens were flickering on the walls, running information and research. The Zophts may not have been the best good guys around, but they weren't going to be responsible for the end of the universe. Silla brought up on a larger screen a detailed schematic of a standard nanomachine injector and began comparing it to the curved blade Pepaa had given her. Sagark was running a tracking program on a sample of the nanomachines. If they could find where Ben 10 was on Earth, they'd be able to stop him from using the Omnitrix.

"These nanomachines were designed to make whoever they are injected into lose control of their body for a short period of time." Silla pointed out some functions of the nanomachines on a large-scale schematic. "If the Omnitrix is activated while Ben Tennyson is under the control of the machines, it's power could be used for anything, including total annihilation of entire planets."

"This isn't good. He's moving quickly down on Earth. Much too quickly for a normal human. We've got to intercept him before that fucking bastard Pepaa gets to him." Sagark programmed coordinates that would land an escape pod on the outskirts of the town where the Mega Cruiser's recruiters had picked up their not-so-human-anymore specimens.

----------- x ----------

Kevin sped along the highway leading out into the desert outside Bellwood. Gwen hadn't called him with more information on Ben, so he figured the younger was still heading in this direction. His thoughts were confirmed when he caught sight of a red blur in the sky. He pushed his speed extra hard to catch up to Ben.

"BEN! COME DOWN! BEN!"

Kevin ran until he was a bit ahead of the unresponsive Jetray, then took out his Stinkfly wings and launched himself into the air. He grabbed onto Ben, and took him down to the ground. Jetray struggled, but his strength was nothing compared to the mutant's four arms. The two crash-landed into the desert floor, creating a large crater.

"Ben! Ben! Snap out of it! Fuck, BEN!" Kevin shook the snapping, laser-zapping Jetray, trying to get Ben to come to. After a few minutes, the Omnitrix timed out, and Ben continued to struggle in Kevin's Vulpimancer arms, but much more weakly. The wounds on his back had reopened, and his blood was slowly oozing out. Ben stopped moving. Kevin turned back to Bellwood and started to run again. _'I dunno if he's just exhausted or if he's too hurt, but I need to get him back before something happens to make him freak out like this again.'_

*****

Notes?

Umm… I crapped out. Sorry guys. I wanted to do something epic, but I just ended up creating more filler. Better luck next time, methinks. Go for it, guys! Make this epic! (Please?)

BTW: My brother started pondering how Kevin came back from being a mutant in the Null Void. He thinks Kevin's going to go back and remutate. And they'll have to rename the show "Ben 10: Kevin Force." XD Also: Live-action Kevin's hair scares him and he thinks live-action Gwen looks stupid. I love my little brother.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Bananafishstickers post #23**_ by Pan2dapan

Skipping people again am I? Yeah. I DO WHAT I WANT.

-----------x----------

The pod jettisoned and hurtled toward the blue planet, landing in the large clearing that it was directed to. Sagark stepped out of the pod, looking around quickly before putting an ID mask over his face. The Anisophteran now looked human, even though some of his insect-like features carried through, his silver hair, his eyes angled.

Stepping further out into the night, he waved Silla and Nogoori out, both aliens following suit putting on ID masks.

"We don't have much time. My comm watch will alert me if the Megacruiser detects any non-Plumber spacecraft entering this solar system. Let's find Ben 10 and set this right before it's all over." Sagark led the group out of the clearing and into Bellwood.

-----------x----------

As Kevin sped back toward his house, he pulled out his phone with his unoccupied hands. Dialing the familiar number again, the mutant waited until the female Tennyson answered.

"Kev? Did you find him?"

"Yeah, his back's all fucked up again though. I had to practically shake him to death before the watch timed out. I'm about 3 minutes away from the house. Hope you're rested up."

"I'll be fine. Just make sure he doesn't lose too much blood. He lost so much last night, and we really can't risk taking him to a hospital."

"I know. We'll be there soon." Kevin closed the phone and tucked it back into his pocket. Glancing down at the unconscious hero, the mutant's Vulpimancer arms held him closer, "Hold on, Benji..."

-----------x----------

The redhead paced around Kevin's small living room waiting for their return, her hands nervously pulsing with pink flashing energy. Noticing that she was doing that, Gwen forced herself to sit on the mutant's worn sofa, closing her eyes and attempted to meditate.

All of but four seconds lapsed before the door crashed down revealing a trio of people. A tall, silver haired man with tanned skin and golden eyes, a similar looking woman, probably a sibling to the man, with violet hair and one green eye, the other covered by a patch. And standing slightly behind the statuesque pair, was a smaller, thinner man with black hair and pale blue eyes.

"Where is Ben 10?!" The man barked at the stupefied Gwen.

----------x----------


	24. Chapter 24

**_Team Bananafishstickers' "Grudge Match Redux" Post #24_** by Minty Chinchilla

This took a while to get started on. I blame my brother. He wanted to show me his new video game. It was lulzy.

*****

Gwen jumped up from her seat on the couch. She had no idea who these three people were but if they were breaking down doors looking for Ben, it couldn't be good. Gwen figured she would try to just get rid of these three people before the three minutes it took Kevin to come back were up. It might be difficult; she couldn't tell if they were armed but the eye patch that woman was wearing probably wasn't there to make a fashion statement. She had definitely seen action.

"Ben's not here, but I suggest you leave now before I make you." Her hands glowed pink, and she held them up ready to fight. "I won't let you hurt him."

"We're not here to hurt him," the woman scoffed. "We're here to save him."

"Wait… what?" Gwen nearly let her guard down, but that eye patch lady was giving off a creepy vibe. "How could you possibly be able to help him? How would you even know something was wrong? We don't know you."

"We were tricked into hurting him to begin with, that's why Earth-maggot!" the silver-haired man bellowed, his voice making Gwen wince. She hated the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard with a side of gravel thrown down the garbage disposal. "We were doing our jobs, and being paid mighty fine for it, too, and that _snake_ tricked us into using level four nanobots and now the little bastards are in his bloodstream!"

The woman interrupted his tirade.

"We need to stop him from ripping a hole in the fabric of space."

Gwen's fingers twitched. She hated it when Ben was about to rip holes in the fabric space. It always resulted in someone getting nearly eaten, blown up, or sent through time to the worst possible future. She eyed the three (probably not human) people in the now broken doorway, and decided to give them a chance.

"You three stand over there," she pointed to the left of the broken door. "We're going to wait for Kevin to bring Ben back, and then we'll see if you're telling the truth or not. Make one wrong move and I'll zap you."

-----------x----------

Kevin sped through Bellwood, running too fast for anyone to see the mutant carrying a bloody bundle in two of his four arms. He grasped Ben closer to his chest as he neared his apartment.

"Almost there, Ben. Almost there."

But he slowed down when he got to his door. Or what was left of it. He anxiously walked up to the doorway and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Gwen standing in the living room. _'At least she's okay. One less person to worry about.'_ But then he looked to his right and saw three familiar-looking people. Very familiar-looking.

"YOU BUG-BASTARDS! What are you doing here? Get out before I fry you all again!" Kevin's Pyronite arm flamed up to back up his threat.

The short, thin man cowered in a way very reminiscent of a bug. The other two stood their ground. They took off their ID masks and glared at Kevin in all their buggy glory.

"We were tricked by the snake. We've come to try and fix things before they get worse." Sagark snapped at the mutant.

"It's a little too late to be trying to fix things, don't ya think?!" Kevin shifted his arms so they could see Ben, his back bloody and bruised. When he was sure everyone knew the damage Ben had sustained, Kevin pulled the brunet back to his chest, as though he could still protect Ben from the bugs that had hurt him.

"There isn't anything we can do about the scarring," Silla arched her one good eyebrow. Kevin couldn't tell if she was being a smart-ass or if she was surprised at the damage. It was hard to tell with the eye patch. "But we can do something about the nanobots in his bloodstream. He has been acting strangely, am I correct? Trying to do things he wouldn't normally?"

"And you think nanobots are doin' it? Aren't those at least level three tech? You're gonna get your asses fried by the Plumbers if they find out about this."

"Yes, we _know_ that already. It's too late for us now!" Silla gestured to her eye patch. "You made sure of that. The least we can do is remove the nonobots from his system. If that snake is controlling the bots, then he'll have control over the boy _and_ the Omnitrix."

"And there's that little detail that level four nanobots and highly advanced tech like the Omnitrix don't go very well together. With something like that, we're at risk of destroying everything." Sagark's eye was twitching with anger and frustration.

Gwen was confused. From the sounds of things, these three were actually the Anisopterans that Kevin told her about. The two taller ones were the siblings that had carved the cuts into Ben's back. But now they were offering to _help?_ And Kevin looked like he was going to accept that help? _'He must be desperate to save Ben. Either that or his glasses just make him look like he's being thoughtful.'_

Kevin was about to agree to the aliens' help, but he felt Ben move in his arms. Looking down, Kevin's three golden eyes met Ben's two blurry green ones.

"Kev? Still you?" Ben whispered. He was exhausted and he didn't know why.

"Yeah. Still me." Kevin smiled. Ben was himself again.

"What happened? Last thing I remembered, I was in the bathroom, and now I'm so _tired_."

"Apparently some kind of weird nanobot is taking over your body. We're going to have to find a way to remove the things."

"Urrrrg." Ben poked at his stomach, in a vain attempt to see if he could find any nanobots. "How?"

"I beleive Nogoori knows how." Silla motioned to the shorter, less dragonfly-esque alien behind her. He was holding a weird device. It reminded Kevin of a cross between a plunger and a trombone. A very small trombone.

Ben looked over at the aliens. His eyes widened at the sight of the bugs that had tortured him the previous day. (Or was it two days ago? He couldn't remember.) He struggled in Kevin's arms, pressing up against the mutant and trying to get as far away from them as possible.

"Not again." Ben made a face. Kevin brought Ben's attention back to himself.

"They're the only chance we've got."

-----------x----------

Nanobots + Omnitrix = Total Annihilation. Could someone explain this for me? I'm not too sure I get it yet. XD


End file.
